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PlaceMat & LapTray in ONE

I am in a sewing mood these last couple of days and started with this easy PlaceMat and LapTray.

Now, I do not know much about sewing, but I can {usually!} get the sewing machine to do what I want. For all of you out there, who actually know what you are doing, my apologies for wrong terminology or methods I use {but, at least you will have an idea of what I did ..}

First I cut the above pieces 2.5cm {an inch} larger than my board size all around{see lower down what I have used}
which I multiplied the width by two – to get one long rectangular shape which gets folded over.

Sewed the Bias binding to seal the top and bottom of the Cutlery Divider – {cut and tucked in the end pieces}

I sewed the Cutlery Divider onto the Top Fabric – see the X’s – I sewed each line a couple of times to make it stronger.

Sewed the Napkin Pocket onto the Top Fabric with an opening on the top to slip in the napkin {I also stitched the Bias binding for the Ties while I was busy with the smaller pieces – the Ties get sewed onto the Mat/Tray later}

{one can see it is Winter in SA – my hands are all blue!}

Above is the Order of the Layers – this is how I sewed everything together {see below}

The white circles show where I have pinned all three layers together all around {to make sure all is flat and there are no bubbles forming}

I started off by stitching the 3 layers together by the width {in the center} which will now form the “top” piece of the Mat/Tray.

To make it easier I cut a small piece of batting away on the side which must be open for the board to slide in

Above you can see I simply folded the lining over the batting and the top layer just folded – then sewed it close {front and back side}

After that was done I folded the Top Fabric towards each other – the lining will now be on the outside – Leaving a small border {approx 5mm} – I sewed the other length side and the “bottom” closed – I did this twice to make it stronger – turned the, now wrong side, in – making sure to push out the corners neatly.

I used a standard size Clip Board {which is slightly larger than A4} – removed the Clip and the board was ready {these boards are extremely sturdy} The rounded corners would also prevent tears when inserting into the Mat/Tray as this is a tight fit {also my reason for not using the very thin lining}

Slide the board into the finished Mat/Tray {I had already hand sewed the Ties at the ends}

Close it up …

and you have a handy

I thought a melamine picnic tray would look great here {seeing as one usually use a Lap Tray at a picnic/cookout/BBQ/braai…}

It fits nicely over my legs and with the extra batting on the bottom, it is very comfy as well! {standard place mats of this type normally only have a single piece of batting}

When done – replace with clean Cutlery and a Napkin – fold and tie up – ready for next time

Comments

Thanks so much for hosting the "Let's Get Social Sunday" blog hop!AngiePS – I would also like to invite you to a blog hop called: “The Great Blog Train” currently live on my blog (the kind of hop where you link up your homepage)– Thank you! Great Blog Train

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Linda lives in Johannesburg, South-Africa with her husband Roy. She has two kids, both in their mid twenties. With A Blast was founded by Linda in 2012 which is a food blog focused on quick and easy recipes,.... Read More…

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